Love others, no matter the cost
Posted in Devotion on 10/19/2008 04:50 pm by Ali Balweg
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” -Philippians 2:1-3
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” -Philippians 2:14-15
We are to serve others without complaining. How simple it sounds but how stubborn we are to actually do it.
“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” -Philippians 3:7-8
Because it requires giving things up.
“By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth.” -1 John 3:16-18
Not just saying we’ll give them up. Or just feeling bad for those who don’t have anything or anyone.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” -James 1:27
But DOING something about it.
We are called to help those in need. I’ve been feeling a pull on me to do more about this and at the moment I’m not sure what to do with it. But I do know this: God loves me and I am to show that love to others, no matter the cost, and He will help me in that mission. And He’ll help you too.
As a start, I recently sponsored a child through World Vision (www.worldvision.org. I’d encourage you to consider doing the same. If financially that is not a viable option at the moment, then be praying for the children and their families. We have it so good, we can’t forget about those that don’t.
God Bless 
October 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
That’s cool that you are sponsoring through World Vision. I grew up listening to a radio program, created by Focus on the Family, called “Jungle Jam” and they always advertised World Vision before and after every episode. I remember the announcer saying “Today’s episode was made possible by this station and Everland entertainment and by World Vision…”. We listened to those shows over and over again…. Anyway I’m familiar with that organization and that’s cool that you did it through them.